HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP202200001 Review Comments Special Use Permit 2022-03-04COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE
Department of Community Development
401 McIntire Road, North Wing
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902-4596
Phone (434) 296-5832 Fax (434) 972-4126
March 4, 2022
Ms. Kendra Patrick
Line & Grade
113 41 Street NE, Suite 100
Charlottesville VA 22902
RE: SP202200001 Misty Mountain Camp Resort
Dear Ms. Patrick —
Your request for Special Use Permit SP202200001 for Misty Mountain Camp Resort has been reviewed
by members of Albemarle County staff and our partner agencies. Review comments are provided below,
organized by Department, Division, or agency.
Planning (Scott Clark)
Pronosal/Narrative
o Water Supply
• Please provide the results of the fracture -trace study carried out for this proposal.
• Please provide documentation of the Virginia Department of Health approvals of
the proposed wells.
o Septic/Sewer
• Please follow the County Engineer's guidance below to apply for the proposed
central sewer system
• We recommend that you submit that application at the same time as your
resubmittal on this SP amendment, and show the proposed system on the
conceptual plan for the SP, so that both proposals can be presented to the Planning
Commission and Board of Supervisors at the same time. Note that if the Board
were to support the special use permit amendment but not the central -sewer
system, it could be necessary to defer the review of this amendment request in
order to alter the design to accommodate use of septic systems throughout before
final approval. In general, our comprehensive plan recommends against central
systems, but we understand that you may be able to make a case that septic waste
from the existing cabins could be more safely managed with a central system. We
recommend that any central system be sited to avoid impacts on critical slopes,
streams, stream buffers, and existing areas of mature wooded vegetation.
• Please clarify which facilities (cabins vs camp bathrooms, etc.) would be served
by the proposed central system, and which would use the new or existing septic
fields.
o Campsite Changes
• Please clarify the changes at the southwest comer of the site. Will the sites that
recently had campers or trailers parked in them be changed to open sites for
standard, transient RV/tent use?
• The narrative states that "The added campsites adjacent to TMP 71- 5 and TMP
71- 4E will be screened by existing vegetation in the rear and side yard areas..."
Please provide a specific landscaping plan for these areas that uses native tree and
shrub species for the enhanced screening (preferably by augmenting existing
mature vegetation where possible, rather than by removing and replacing it).
• For the new campsite in the southeastern portion of the property, please provide a
narrative description of your tree/vegetation preservation plans. We would
recommend that canopy trees be retained in this area where possible, as in the
existing hilltop campsite. This would be preferable to either a cleared grass area or
clearing followed by new landscaping.
o Cabins
• The application states that 16 cabins have been built on the site, where a prior
County approval only permitted ten. That prior approval also only permitted four
of the cabins to be constructed as dwelling units as defined in the Zoning
Ordinance. Please provide more detailed on the facilities included in each of the
16 existing cabins — how many are constructed/equipped as full dwelling units?
• Conceptual Plan
o General Plan Layout
• In order to make future plan interpretation possible, please replace the color
gradients with:
• Existing and proposed tree/vegetation lines (and marked "wooded areas to
remain")
• A plain plan background.
• Where necessary, activity/disturbance envelope lines for specific activity
areas
• The new camping area in the southeastern portion of the property appears to have
more spacing between campsites than the existing hilltop campsite. We would
recommend that this area be condensed to the degree possible, in order to (1)
enable greater setbacks from the adjacent properties, and (2) allow for less
removal of existing vegetation.
• Please extend the topo contours through the whole site, and show generalized
conceptual grading. Also — there appear to several small circles of various sizes in
the topo layers — what do these represent?
• Are the indicated new campsite locations at specific intended sites, or just a
general illustration?
• Please consider revising the color -coding to make the cabins and the new
campsites more distinct. (This problem might be exacerbated by my slight color-
blindness.)
Septic fields
• To the west of the new camping area, a septic field is shown on critical slopes.
Please relocate this field outside of the critical slopes.
• Note that septic fields are a good example of a feature that should be shown as
outside the proposed tree lines mentioned above.
Existing Structures/Facilities:
• Please label all existing structures with their functions. (Cabins can still be
indicated just by color and number.)
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• Some of the existing cabins (see image below) appear to have been built within an
area of critical slopes.
• Please clarify — was this area of critical slopes graded for construction
of the cabins?
The surface around the existing cabins is shown as "turf." Where is the parking
for these cabins, and are the guests' vehicles parked on turf or another surface?
What is indicated by the colored areas by the driveway and structures at the
northwest comer of the property, adjacent to US 250. Is this gravel? Also, at the
northeastern corner, there is more of this surface, plus what appears to be a second
entrance (unpaved?) entrance to the property. What is this, and who can access it
(guests vs. staff)?
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Community Meeting
Additional comments regarding impacts to neighboring properties may be forthcoming at the 3/29
community meeting. Please consider those comments carefully and incorporate your response in your
next submittal.
Plannine/Architectural Review Board (Marearet Maliszewski)
• Will any wooded area be cleared to accommodate the expansion? If so, indicate where and how
much on the concept plan.
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• Include a note on the concept plan stating that the trees along the Rt. 250 frontage are to remain.
Planning/Natural Resources Program (Kim BiasiolH)
1. The narrative describes `plans to enhance the creek'. Please describe what is meant by `enhance'.
2. Stockton Creek is identified by the DEQ as an impaired waterway. It is classified by DEQ as `not
supporting' recreational uses due to a bacterial impairment (E. coli). Please describe how the
proposed Central Sewerage System and/or other planning measures will mitigate potential
impacts from the increased usage/year round usage to avoid contributing to this issue.
3. The plan is unclear on whether the medium green areas will remain primarily forested or be
converted to turf. Please clarify what the medium green color signifies.
4. One of the new proposed drainfields on the plan is the darker green color indicating it will remain
forested. Please clarify as a drainfield cannot be forested.
5. Please indicate how much impervious cover will be added to the site outside of the road.
Given the impaired status of Stockton Creek, the following recommendations for the site should be
considered:
1. Pumping out existing septic systems prior to bringing the new ones on, to avoid potential
backing up and overflow to Stockton Creek;
2. Increasing measures to encourage guests to manage pet waste responsibly (such as
bags/signage), as increases in pet waste on the site could also contribute to the bacterial
impairment;
3. Siting the drainfields further away from the critical slopes, creek, and proposed forested
areas;
4. Maximizing retention of forest and other woody vegetation throughout the property, and
avoiding further conversion to turf, particularly on the slopes between the creek and the new
and redeveloped campsites.
5. Consider additional planting of trees or other woody vegetation on the north side of Stockton
Creek, where the existing campground backs right up to the river.
Zoning (Francis MacCall)
Zoning comments will be provided as soon as they are available.
Engineering (Frank Pohl, Countv Engineer)
• Please refer to Chapter 16 for Central System submittal requirements. Don't hesitate to let me
know if you have questions about this process.
• Please adjust the layering to more clearly show the floodplain and stream buffer limits.
• A VSMP application will be required if the cumulative proposed land disturbance will exceed
10,000 sf, including drainfields.
Please see comments in the attached memo.
(Planning note: We would recommend that you carry out and submit the turn -lane warrant analysis with
your special use permit resubmittal, rather than waiting until the site plan review)
Action after Receipt of Comments
After you have read this letter, please take one of the actions identified on "Action After Receipt of
Comment Letter" which is attached.
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If you choose to resubmit, please use the form at the following link. There is no fee for the first
resubmittal. The resubmittal date schedule will be provided on the County website.
Please contact me with any questions and/or requests for assistance you may have. I can be reached at
sclarkkalbemarle.org or 434-296-5832, ext. 3249.
Sincerely,
Scott M. Clark
Scott Clark
Senior Planner II
Planning Division
enc: Action After Receipt of Comment Letter
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
ACTION AFTER RECEIPT OF COMMENT
Within 30 days of the date of this letter, please do one of the following:
(1) Resubmit in response to review comments
(2) Request indefinite deferral
(3) Request that your Planning Commission public hearing date be set
(4) Withdraw your application
(1) Resubmittal in Response to Review Comments
LETTER
If you plan to resubmit within 30 days, make sure that the resubmittal is on or before a resubmittal date
as published in the project review schedule. The full resubmittal schedule may be found at
www.albemarle.org in the "forms" section at the Community Development page. Be sure to include the
resubmittal form on the last page of your comment letter with your submittal.
The application fee which you paid covers staff review of the initial submittal and one resubmittal. Each
subsequent resubmittal requires an additional fee. (See attached Fee Schedule.)
(2) Request Indefinite Deferral
If you plan to resubmit after 30 days from the date of the comment letter, you need to request an
indefinite deferral. Please provide a written request and state your justification for requesting the
deferral. (Indefinite deferral means that you intend to resubmit/request a public hearing be set with the
Planning Commission after the 30 day period.)
(3) Request Planning Commission Public Hearing Date be Set
At this time, you may schedule a public hearing with the Planning Commission. However, we do not
advise that you go directly to public hearing if staff has identified issues in need of resolution that can be
addressed with a resubmittal.
After outstanding issues have been resolved and/or when you are ready to request a public hearing,
staff will set your public hearing date for the Planning Commission in accordance with the Planning
Commission's published schedule and as mutually agreed by you and the County. The staff report and
recommendation will be based on the latest information provided by you with your initial submittal or
resubmittal. Please remember that all resubmittals must be made on or before a resubmittal date.
By no later than twenty-one (21) days before the Planning Commission's public hearing, a newspaper
advertisement fee and an adjoining owner notification fee must be paid. (See attached Fee Schedule)
Your comment letter will contain the actual fees you need to pay. Payment for an additional newspaper
advertisement is also required twenty-two (22) days prior to the Board of Supervisors public hearing.
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These dates are provided on the attached Legal Ad Payments for Public Hearings form.
Please be advised that, once a public hearing has been advertised, only one deferral prior to the
Planning Commission's public hearing will be allowed during the life of the application. The only
exception to this rule will be extraordinary circumstances, such as a major change in the project
proposal by the applicant or more issues identified by staff that have not previously been brought to the
applicant's attention. As always, an applicant may request deferral at the Planning Commission
meeting.
(4) Withdraw Your Application
If at any time you wish to withdraw your application, please provide your request in writing.
Failure to Respond
If we have not received a response from you within 30 days, we will contact you again. At that time, you
will be given 10 days to do one of the following: a) request withdrawal of your application, b) request
deferral of your application to a specific Planning Commission date as mutually agreed to with staff, or c)
request indefinite deferral and state your justification for requesting the deferral. If none of these
choices is made within 10 days, staff will schedule your application for a public hearing based on the
information provided with your original submittal or the latest submittal staff received on a resubmittal
date.
Fee Payment
Fees paid in cash or by check must be paid at the Community Development Intake Counter. Make checks
payable to the County of Albemarle. Do not send checks directly to the Review Coordinator. Fees may
also be paid by credit card using the secure online payment system, accessed at
http://www.a lbema rle.org/depa rtment.asp?department=cdd&rel page=21685.
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COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Stephen C. Brich, P.E. 1401 East Broad Street
Commissioner Richmond, Virginia 23219
February 3, 2022
County of Albemarle
Department of Community Development
401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Attn: Scott Clark
Re: Misty Mountain Camp Resort — Special Use Permit
SP-2022-00001
Review # 1
Dear Mr. Clark:
(804) 7862701
Fax: (804) 7862940
The Department of Transportation, Charlottesville Residency Transportation and Land Use
Section, has reviewed the above referenced plan as prepared by Line and Grade Civil
Engineering, dated 14 January 2022, and offers the following comments:
1. Analyze the turn -lane warrants when preparing the site plan.
2. Note that the final plan must show conformance with the VDOT Road Design Manual
Appendices 13(1) and F, as well as any other applicable standards, regulations or other
requirements.
The Department finds these plans generally acceptable. If further information is desired, please
contact Doug McAvoy Jr. at (540) 718-6113.
A VDOT Land Use Permit will be required prior to any work within the right-of-way. The
owner/developer must contact the Charlottesville Residency Transportation and Land Use
Section at (434) 422-9399 for information pertaining to this process.
Sincerely,
Doug McAvoy Jr., P.E.
Area Land Use Engineer
Charlottesville Residency
VirginiaDOT.org
WE KEEP VIRGINIA MOVING
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V WGI W A UEE'AR'NEN' OF HEAJIM
Scott Clark, Senior Planner II
Albemarle County Community Development
401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, VA 22902
RE: Misty Mountain Camp Resort
Concept Plan for Special Use Permit
Tax Map: 71-3
SP202200001
Mr. Clark:
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March 4, 2022
As requested, I've reviewed the Concept Plan, dated 1/4/22, for the proposed
development. As the plan shows, the campground is served by onsite septic systems and
a transient community water system. I have no concerns or objections to approval of the
Special Use Permit, but advise that designs for the new septic system(s) will need to be
approved by this office, and wells by the Office of Drinking Water prior to approval of a
site plan or issuance of construction permits.
If there are any questions or concerns, please give me a call, 434-972-4306.
Sincerely,
Alan Mazurowski
Environmental Health Supervisor
Blue Ridge Health District
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